


brief clarity

by engolras



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Invisible Kingdom | Revelation Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-10-15 11:28:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10555554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/engolras/pseuds/engolras
Summary: Garon feels the presence of Anankos leave his body and, in his first bought of coherence in years, he fears for his children.(alternate title: I'm Salty That Garon Stayed A One Dimensional Character And That The Nohrians Didn't Get Any Closure With Him Like The Hoshidans Got With Their Parents)





	

**Author's Note:**

> as suggested by the alternate title, i wasn't a fan of how garon got axed off in revelations, or how his character was handled in general. they paint this picture of what he was like before being possessed by anankos and then just do nothing with it and i feel ripped off. hopefully this fic is as decent as i think it is and other people enjoy it.

Garon wasn’t able to fully register how much time had passed until he felt awake again.  He’d known, in his lengthy daze, that time was passing.  He could see his children grow older and his skin - covered so carefully in armour - showed his age even more clearly than his now white hair.  Despite registering as much as he did, he still hadn’t been fully aware of what was happening around him.  Another presence, one he deeply misjudged and regretted allowing anywhere near him, skewed his perception just enough so that he felt somewhat in control of himself but also so that he wouldn’t question why certain things occurred.  He kidnapped a child without caring why.  He fought tooth and nail to conquer another kingdom without caring why.  He saw his four children who had managed to survive those early days in the ruthless court grow up in fear of him without caring why.

Garon feels the presence of Anankos leave his body and, in his first bought of coherence in years, he fears for his children.  

He doesn’t notice the wound until Anankos spits him out, forcing him off the tooth that had punctured his back which allowed Anankos to absorb the power he’d given Garon.  Garon hits the ground hard; pieces of his armor break off and clatter onto the floor around him.  His vision is blurring and he can’t move outside of twitching.  He sees a pair of feet step in front of him, facing away from him as if the person were trying to guard him from Anankos.  A pair of smaller feet come into view, standing directly behind the person the other set belongs to, although this person faces him.  After a few seconds Garon realizes the sound he’s hearing besides Anankos speaking is the sound of a staff being used.

His vision becomes clear just in time to see Anankos retreat into the wall, causing more of the throne room to crumble.  He winces as something lands near his head.  When he opens his eyes again he sees that more people have gathered around him, but he doesn’t have the strength to lift his head high enough to see past their legs.  Someone is still trying to heal him and he tries to protest against it, but is unable to speak when he first opens his mouth.  He coughs and something flies out of his mouth, most likely blood, and tries to speak again.

“Do not…waste your…staves…on me.”

“B-but Father -”

Elise.  Of course, Elise.  

“Anankos…is powerful.”  Garon coughs again.  “You will need your...staves.”

Someone kneels by him and then lifts his head to rest it on their legs.  He looks up to see his eldest daughter gazing down at him with profound sadness in her eyes.

Camilla.  Of course, Camilla.

“The floor was a good enough place to rest my head, dear,” he tells her.  He’s already finding it easier to speak now that his head is a bit elevated.

Both her eyes and smile are tear filled.  Those eyes and that smile are more worldly now than when he last truly saw her - a miserable child desperate to please all who encountered her.

“Surely, you jest, Father,” Camilla replies.

Before Garon can reply, another one of his children kneels beside him.

“The floor is no place for a king.”

Leo.  Of course, Leo.

“It is for this king, my son,” Garon says.  He grits his teeth at the pain he feels in lifting his arm high enough to rest his hand on his youngest son’s knee.

Leo hesitantly lays his own hand on top of his father’s.  Garon wonders if Leo remembers coming to him as a child and patting his knee to get his attention.  Garon feels as if that had only just occurred the night before, but he knows it couldn’t have happened for over a decade.  

He sees Elise kneel down on his other side, and he turns his head to look at his youngest daughter for the first time.  He had never once seen or spoken to her and been fully aware of himself.  The only father she’d known had been one too corrupt to raise her.  Garon is amazed she was willing to heal a man she’d only ever known as a monster.

There are tears running down Elise’s face and Garon wants to wipe them away, but he can’t muster enough energy to do more than lay his hand on her cheek as gently as possible.  She grabs his hand with both of hers and holds it there.

“Father…”

“Do not waste your tears either, Elise,” Garon tells her.  “Save them for someone more worthy of them.”

“Being her father makes you worthy enough of them.”

Xander.  Of course, Xander.

“If we had the time…” Garon coughs - borderline retches - and he feels Elise and Leo’s grips on his hands tighten.  “I would thoroughly refute that.”

Xander kneels next to Elise, evidently on the verge of tears himself.  While it pains Garon to be the cause of such distress, he’s also glad to see his eldest son show some vulnerability after so many years of seeing a near mirror image of himself in place of his son.  He always believed Xander would be strong enough to not become his own father, but having the privilege of seeing proof of such a fact was more than Garon ever hoped for.

“My remaining time is fleeting, however, and this old man has quite a lot to say.”  Garon tries to hide his faltering breath without much success.  “I do not have the adequate time or words to truly apologize for everything I’ve done.”

“But it wasn’t truly you who did those terrible things!”

Corrin.  Of course, Corrin.

She kneels next to Leo and her gaze is so insistent that Garon feels almost compelled to agree with her.  But now was not the time to make even more mistakes.

“It was I who made the mistake of listening to Anankos in the first place, dear,” he says.  “That fatal error caused far too much destruction for me to shirk the blame.”

Garon turns his head slightly, just enough to see the Hoshidan royal children a few feet away.  He mistakes the eldest for Sumeragi himself before his mind rights itself once more.

“I escalated a conflict I’d wished to subdue during my reign, and robbed you and your Hoshidan siblings of your parents.”  Garon moves his head back to look up at his own children.  “Just as I robbed you all of a proper father.”

He thinks he see Arete placing her hand on Corrin’s shoulder, although he can’t quite be sure.  She seems much younger than the last time he saw her.

The floor shakes beneath them as Anankos wreaks havoc, and they all wince at the volume of his roar.  Garon needs more time with his children, but he knows they have a world to save.

“Learn from my mistakes, all of you,” he says as his vision blurs around the edges.  “It’s truly unfair for you to have to clean up your father’s many messes, but please, make Nohr a kingdom to be proud of again.  Make Nohr…a place that is... worthy of you all.”

Garon’s eyes drift shut, and he hears someone say “Father”, but he can’t discern who it is.

“I’m… so proud of you… my children.”


End file.
